Dick’s Last Resort Replaces Guy Harvey’s in Pier Park

There has been quite a bit of commotion at Pier Park this week. Monday, Guy Harvey’s Island Grill closed down and it was announced that Dick’s Last Resort was coming in this off-season. Guy Harvey’s has been a tenant almost since the beginning, located at the corner of S Pier Park Drive and Front Beach Road next to Reggae J’s. Their menu consisted of fresh gulf seafood short of a few select species that Harvey deemed depleted. The entrance was a gift shop that hosted shirts, art, belts, and many other varieties of schwag.

I’m not even going to get into speculation as to what happened.

Dick’s Last Resort

Dick’s last resort is known for its “outrageous, surly and energetic wait staff and tasty comfort food.” They have locations in Nashville, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, Dallas, Baltimore, San Antonio, San Diego, Chicago, Boston and Vegas. And looking at that location lineup, that puts Panama City Beach up there with the big dogs.

“At Dick’s Last Resort, we’re known for having a good time, but we’re very selective about where we do business,” said CEO Ted Moats. “Pier Park and Panama City Beach are a natural fit for the fun, energetic atmosphere we offer, and we are very excited to open our doors and meet the local community and visitors.”

“Dick’s Last Resort is a perfect fit for the Panama City Beach market,” said Felicia Cook, Pier Park’s Director of Marketing & Business Development. “With so many of their locations open in top tier tourist destinations, we’re thrilled that they’ve decided to open in Pier Park.”

I can tell you we tried to eat there one time and the owner was so rude, moved us outside so he could put some friends at out table. We told him we would never come back. Happy to see we now have a new restaurant going in there.

No one is sad to see Guy Harvey’s go, but if you’ve ever eaten at a Dick’s Last Resort, it’s hard to be happy to see them arrive. If I wanted to be dumped on by surly waiters, I’d go eat dinner in New York City.

Maybe leaving before Red Neck wal-mart shows up? Never went to Guy Harvey’s anyway. Like to stop in some of the more exotic franchises for drinks or snacks/lunch, but really prefer the smaller locally owned restaurants for dinner.

Please speculate as to what happened……..Now I’m curious. I can’t wait to see how the “outrageous, surly waitstaff” goes over with the snowbirds. May have to hang around the location just to watch the show.

I pulled up info on the web about Dick’s in Gatlinburg Tn. I can’t say that I was too impressed with what I read. It mentioned Wacky,Wild,Mean, Rude, Insulting—- Good Times & Drinks. Nothing about the food quality…. Odd, very odd. It had 2 comments one good one bad. From the looks of the website, I cannot see this place in Pier Park… some may think I have no vision but, I see Pier park as a up-scale nice place to shop & eat not on the “Country” theme side. Sorry, I cannot see this place there. 😦
My only wish is that some of the 100 I heard were let go at Harvey’s will get re-hired, I hate to see anyone without work & income.
We had never ate at Harvey’s…… we waited there but, no one showed interest in seating us so we went over to the Back Porch. By the way…. If you have not eaten there GOooooo, it’s fantastic! Great Food, good service and friendly!
Good Luck to them is the best I can offer.
Cathy/Tennessee

I tried to eat at Guy Harveys twice and never got a table. Was told it would be an hour wait and there were tables empty everywhere.
As far as Back Porch goes tried them twice and food was over priced, slow service and beer is served in a small plastic cup. If I’m paying $4 for a beer I expect a glass. Both clients we took there said thay would never go back.
Tourist trap.

BM…… Please tell me where a good place to eat in PCB is then. Sounds like you are a resident? I’ve been to the upper places out along the Bay and way out places over in the “Old” city. Hunt’s is the very best oysters you can find. Believe me, I’ve traveled to & from PCB since I was a child. I always wonder about the new places.
We’ve been to the Back Porch perhaps 8 times & never got a bad meal. My salad was ice cold served on a glass fish shaped plate… very attractive. The seafood plate was great with large shrimp and scallops… they were to die for! I really don’t mind paying for good seafood. The last time we went to Capt. Andersen’s the fish was small pieces and greasy. We were very disappointed & have not been back. When we come to PCB we want to eat “Seafood” and want it to be good! Next visit we make will be in September.
Thanks, Cathy/Tennessee

I’ve seen it over on Thomas Dr. but sorry to say we have never tried it. I’ll get the hubby to drive over that way this September.
We did try Salt Water Grill…… “One” time there was enough for us! lol lol
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Cathy/Tn.

The “seafood” at Back Porch is frozen and shipped in, not local. Their oysters are from a government raised farm. Now Capt. Anderson’s has fresh seafood, therefore they can’t control how large or small the fish are. You can travel anywhere and get the same seafood that is at Back Porch.

I’m glad to live in the South where good manners, “Yes, Ma’am, yes, Sir” are common place and expected. I hope Dick’s is adjusting their presentation to accomodate the locale. I like to see restaurants thrive for good food and good service. It’s a treat to get to eat out every so often for us. I wouldn’t pay to be treated rudely over dinner. I think I’ll wait to hear what others say about their experience before I give Dick’s a try.

Okay for all of you whom have not been to a Dick’s Last Resort you have it all wrong. Dick’s Last Resort is about having fun while creating memories and the sarcasm is all in good humor and fun. Nobody is. Treated badly nor is anyone rude to any guests. At DLR the servers put on shows and interact with children and everyone leaves smiling. So for all that hasn’t been you should go before passing judgement and by the way the food there is amazing.

I ate at Dick’s in Las Vegas last year & let me tell ya, don’t bring the kids! The food was good but the wait staff is indeed insulting & vulgar. We got a good laugh out of it but again, we were in Vegas.

Simon is so greedy they will put anyone in that can pay their overly inflated rent @ $38 sq/ft. However, this one has less of a chance at working than Guy Harvey’s did. We don’t need (any more of them) gimmics in Panama City Beach and this is all this is. This restaurant won’t attract tourists with children during the summer and it won’t go over with snowbirds in the fall/winter. The only demo that has a chance of going there will be Spring Breakers and that only lasts 6 weeks!

The more I think about it, the worse this idea seems. Politeness is sort of who we are. It is an intrinsic part of our culture. I can’t imagine any demographic in our area for this restaurant, except for the Spring Breakers as Biggen mentioned. Good luck making it with six weeks of revenue.

I say let’s give it a chance before everyone starts blasting it. It appears no one like Guy Harvey’s, so be glad we have something else. I’m not really worried about the snowbirds eating there, I am just glad to have another restaurant to support the locals. If a restaurant won’t stay open to support the locals in the winter, I don’t support them in the summer. I will give it a try, if the food is good, and not over priced it just might be fun.

Awesome, my family and I went to a Dick’s LR in Boston and it was hilarious especially since we had no idea what we were in for.. The wait staff made a hat for an elderly gentleman that stated “I pee sitting down” and cut a circle out of paper place black scribble on it and taped it to my cousin Joe’s bald spot… and the food was good too

I don’t think Dicks is a good fit for the mall. I put it up there with Capt. Andersons, a whole lot of ado about nothing. J. Michaels is a lot better and cheaper. Applebees is okay too. Montego Bay is pretty good too. Harpoon Harrys gets a thumbs up too. Hopefully something will come along that is more along the lines of the average customer and not the Spring break-Thunder Road crap.

This is exactly what this beach needs is a place that will piss off the Bay County government and TDC, Can not wait to go and have dinner there, especially when those god forsaken Snow Birds come down to be cheap asses!!!!!

Wow, from the penthouse to the outhouse. I live in Dallas and went to Dick’s once thinking it was an actual restaurant. The food is mostly fried bar food. If you order anything else like a steak then you will really be disappointed-mine was tiny, way overcooked, and tasteless. Personally, I do not think this is a place to take kids as most of the humor is crude and sexually related. If Panama City Beach wants to continue to be known as the redneck riviera, then Dick’s Last Resort is the perfect new addition!

Used to live in PCB now live in baltimore,and work at the dicks last resort there..All i can say is dont knock it till you try it…all in good fun and change from the norm..hoping to maybe relocate back to flordia to work there!!

Hate it!!!!
I, as well as all of my fiends and acquaintances do not was Dick’s Last Resort here. This is not the kind of place for such a place and we will never go there.
We heard rumors that McGuires Irish Pub as coming and were very excited to see some “class” come to pier park.
Knowing the Dick’s Last Resort will come here makes my heart sink and makes me sick to my stomach. This is a stupid decision to allow them to open a kitschy restaurant here. Why can’t go get something with class like McGuires?
Hate it, hate it, hate it and know of no one who wants it here.
I and not one of the people that I’ve spoken with will set foot in such a place and will not get one penny from us!!!
Stupid place and we hate it!

this is the most revolting sounding restaurant I have ever heard of!! Yelp.com has some of the worst reviews I have ever see about a restaurant chain. This is not a place I would ever be interested in going to, just from what I have read about it. Sounds like a “blackeye” on Pier Park. Give us the Breakers, Hooters, Schooners any day of the week!!!

I am really looking forward to Dick’s opening. I lived in Las Vegas and loved to take my out of town company there for a bite. Good food and good laughs!! Not just another boring old meal out. If you are the prudish type, you might want to stick to the more traditional but those that are coming here to have fun and to make some memories and stories to tell will fill it up!

i cant believe that guy harvey grill is being replaced by dicks last resort. guy harvey grill had great prices for wonderfull food and the staff was very accomidating. the serving suzes were huge. i ordered the etuffe and still had enough for my husband and i to share that night. and my husband can eat. so they have been replaced by this disrespectable rude unaccomidating resturaunt that will do nothin but insure you have a bad day and piss people off. i have worked as a waittress for on and off for f yrs. i guess now a days is ok to be rude to your customers.

I loved the restaurant it has amazing food I’ve ate there three times in the last week and all my food was great and the waiters yes they have crude things to say but they ask ages and are nicer to the younger ones I personally think it gives pcb variety tired of the boring restaurants pcb is meant for fun so why not 🙂 I hope it stays ill keep going back even the older people loved it 🙂 its just fun to actually not be boring for once